


Spark-Match-Crush

by Fabro-de-omres (Fabroishippingtrash)



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Kinda?, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, a heap of minor background characters I expect, help what have I gotten myself into
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-09-21 19:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17048825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabroishippingtrash/pseuds/Fabro-de-omres
Summary: It's Jay's sixth year at Hogwarts, and he's just hoping for an easy year of classes- oh, and for Slytherin to win the Quidditch Cup, of course.Too bad Hogwarts has other plans for him.  Throw in your regularly scheduled teen drama, angst, love and pining- oh and soulmate marks that tell you things your soulmate has said before- and it just becomes the hottest of messes.Jay's not sure if he'll last through the year.





	1. Chapter 1

_"Well that could have gone a lot worse."_

Jay brushes the pad of his thumb over his soulmark words. It's a nervous habit of his; whenever he needs something to do, his fingers gravitate towards his leg. Normally he's more private about it, but he's sitting alone in a compartment with nothing else to do while he waits for his friends to find him. 

In the six or so years since he's had his mark, Jay's narrowed his potential soulmates down a little bit. For one, he knows she goes to Hogwarts. _"I'm going to magic school, Dad, and you can't stop me!"_ made a pretty big impression on itty-bitty ten year-old him, even before he knew that magic existed. He assumes she's around his age too. But the sentences he receives every night are frustratingly vague. Like, really. How is he supposed to find his soulmate based on _"Did you do the charms homework?"_

The door of the compartment slams open. "Jay!"

Jay has just enough time to pull the leg of his trousers down before a mop of blonde curls obscures his vision. 

"Hey, hey, kid!" Jay complains, pushing the kid away from him. "Yeesh! Give me a warning before jumping me like that!"

Lloyd grins. His cheery yellow-and-black tie is already looped around his neck and Jay would totally say _"Over-eager much?"_ if it wouldn't be so hypocritical of him. "Well that wouldn't be half as fun."

Jay grumbles, but scoots over so Lloyd can sit down beside him. "How was your summer?" he asks.

"Where do I start?" Lloyd says, but he's beaming so Jay doesn't think he means it in a bad way. "So my dad knows these people in the Magical Creatures Department, right? And he talked with them at the end of last semester and they work at a dregon reservation and when they heard about my ability they said they'd love to have me as an intern!"

"Wait, so did you-"

Lloyd shakes his head vigorously. "Yep! I got to spend my whole summer working with dregons. It was the best thing ever."

"That's so cool, Lloyd," Jay says, and he means it. "Is that why you weren't responding to any of my letters?"

Lloyd's face falls. "I'm so sorry about that, Jay! I really meant to, I swear, but I was so busy and by the time it was night I just-"

"Jeez, Kid, relax! I was just pulling your leg. I'm not mad- promise." 

Lloyd relaxes. "Thanks. How was your summer?"

"Eh." Jay shrugs one shoulder even as he scrambles for an answer. What do you even say after your friend tells you how they got to live out their dream? _"Yeah, so my dad got hurt working on one of his projects and had to go to the hospital and I took over most of his job and did that practically all summer." Yeah no, Jay._ "It was okay," he says finally. "Not much happened. Nothing worth talking about, anyway." He pauses. "Hey- have you seen any of the others yet?"

"I saw Zane as I was looking for you. He said he'd be down later." Lloyd makes a dismissive gesture, head buried in the satchel at his feet. "Aha!" He throws three chocolate frogs onto the seat beside him and straightens out again. "Want one?"

"Do I?" Jay scoffs. He opens the frog and violently chomps its head off. It's a never-ending joke among their friends that Lloyd always has candy on him. 

"What's up, binches!"

The compartment door slams open. Again. Jay hopes it's not bothering the other compartments too badly. Kai struts into the room, a wide easy grin on his face. He slings his pack onto the seat across from Jay and drops down into it. "Long time, no see, Lloyd!"

"Yeah, Kai, it's not like I was just at your house last Friday or anything." Lloyd rolls his eyes but doesn't resist when Kai leans over to ruffle his hair. 

Kai's dressed in black skinny jeans with the knees ripped out and a red tee-shirt. Jay doubts he even knows the muggle band whose logo is on it. "Nice shirt," he says, because Jay is just like That.

Kai looks down at himself. "You think? Nya got it for me. I haven't listened to them, but she said I would like it."

Jay has serious doubts that Kai would be a One Direction fan and he reminds himself to high-five Nya when he sees her next. Speaking of which...

"Hey, where is Nya?"

"Doing prefect stuff, what did you expect?"

"Oh." You're such an idiot, Jay. Of course. "Right. Ha ha."

Kai rolls his eyes. "Oh no. I'm not gonna spend my last year at Hogwarts watching you awkwardly pine after my sister. Just ask her out already, man!"

Jay balks. "Ask her out?" he squeaks, voice cracking. "I- I can't do that!"

"And why not? You're a good guy, Jay. A lot better than that Ronin jerk from fourth year."

"What if she doesn't like me that way?" Jay fiddles with the hem of the trouser leg hiding his soulmark. 

"They you buck up and get over it." Kai steals the last chocolate frog from Lloyd. "Seriously. It won't be that bad. If Nya didn't like you already, you wouldn't be part of our friend group."

And ouch. It's not like Jay needs reminding that all the rest of his friends have known each other since diapers and he's only there because of his witty personality. Well, okay. Cole was raised muggle too. But everyone loves Cole, so he doesn't count. "I'll think about it, okay?" he finally says. 

"Good," Kai says. "Hey, Lloyd, do you have any Bertie Bott's?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Lloyd drawls, already taking a package from his bottomless pit of a racksack. 

A half-hour passes with the three of them making a game out of trying to guess bean flavors, then they move on to poker (something Jay introduced them to in fifth year). Jay is in the middle of his turn when the sound of the door opening comes from behind him. He twists around; Cole, Nya, and Zane file into the compartment- the latter stooping slightly to make it through. 

"Hey, sis," Kai says. Jay takes opportunity of his distraction to swap out the eight in his hand for the king he's sitting on. Lloyd grins at him and mimes zipping his lips. 

Sometimes, Jay wonders how someone as devious as Lloyd ever landed himself in Hufflepuff.

"And the overachievers greet us with their presence!" he says with a flourish. "Good to see you guys. Busted any firsties on your way down here?"

"Oh, yes," Nya snarks back. "You know I can't help myself. I see those little first years and I just gotta reprehend them."

"Congrats on head boy, Zane!" Lloyd says, because Lloyd is actually the only nice person in their circle of friends. "My dad told me about it this morning."

Jay sits up straighter. "Wait, really? That's awesome, Zane!"

The Hufflepuff ducks his head, but Jay can tell he's pleased. "Thank you. What are we doing here?"

"Winning at poker," Jay says. He lays down his hand.

"You cheated," Kai immediately says. "I don't know when, but you cheated."

Jay spreads his arms in mock-innocence. "Who, me? Why, Kai, I thought you didn't buy into house stereotypes!"

"I don't buy into the house stereotypes because they're crap. But I've been your friend for four years, Jay. I know how you play."

"I can confirm or deny nothing," Jay says, which of course is confirmation in itself. He rakes in the prize pot- another chocolate frog, along with two sickles and a handful of knuts. "Thank you, gentlemen, for your contributions."

"Deal me in," says Nya, dropping her sack by the bench. "Cole, Zane?"

"I'll play," Cole says. Jay scoots over so he can sit down. "And I'll keep track of this cheater, too."

"Hey!" Jay mock-scowls at him and makes a mental note to up his game. "Fine. Go ahead and gang up on the only muggleborn in the group." He deals out the cards.

They play three more games, then drift off to do their own things for the last forty-five minutes. Jay flops down beside Cole. "You excited to get your butt handed to you in quidditch?" he asks.

Cole snorts. "More like you're going to get your butt handed to you. Don't think I forgot how you almost crashed into the goalpost last year." 

"That was one time. Besides, that was only because your lousy beater skills. Seriously. Isn't like the one rule beaters actually have to keep the buldgers away from the seeker?"

"We can keep the buldgers away from the seekers, but we can't keep the seekers away from the buldgers," Cole says sagely.

They stare at each other for a moment. Then a grin tugs at the corner of Jay's mouth and he's laughing, throwing his head back. He comes back to find Cole watching him, a strange look in his eyes. 

"So," Jay says, fidgeting. 

Cole snaps out of his mood. "Have you had any more ideas for our senior prank? I know I just texted you a couple days ago, but-"

"Oh, yeah!" Jay shoots up in his seat. "I had a great one last night. So get this. What if you made a pillow fort barricade in the entrance to the great hall?"

"Pillow fort?" Cole repeats. He adjusts his glasses. "Hmm. If we got everyone in on it, that could be good."

Jay shrugs. "Just offering up ideas." 

When they're ten minutes out, they pull themselves up and start gathering their things. Jay changes into his robes, but Kai only shrugs his over top of his other clothes. The train finally pulls into the station and there's the typical mad dash to get out. Jay steps off the platform, grinning at the crisp autumn air. 

"Jay!" Cole waves him over to a carriage. "Over here!"

"Thanks!" Jay says. He throws his sack into the coach and pulls himself up after it. It's a slightly squished ride, but they've been doing this since Jay's third year. He leans over Kai to see out the window. When the castle comes into view, a wide grin splits across his face that he couldn't control if he tried.

Once inside, Kai, Cole, Zane, and Lloyd split off towards their own tables. Usually they'll end up sitting together throughout the school year, but there's something special- respectful, even- about sitting at your own table for opening night. Jay slides in beside Nya, unlooping his green-and-silver scarf from around his neck. 

"Nice job with Kai's shirt."

Nya smirks. "Thank you."

"I hope you get some good photos when he finds out."

"You mean if." Nya grins slyly at him. "You can keep a secret, right, Jay?"

Jay smirks back. "'Course I can."

"Merlin's beard, just kiss already," Cryptor groans from across the table. 

Jay springs apart from Nya, face burning. "It's not like that!" he almost yells. 

"Really?" drawls Cryptor, raising an eyebrow at him. "Because it sure looks like that."

"It's not," Nya says, and something heavy sinks in Jay's stomach. Way to go, Jay, you just friendzoned yourself. "Besides-" 

"We're just friends," Jay blurts, because why the hell not? He's already this far gone.

"He's gay," Nya finishes. 

Jay's eyes bug out. "What? I'm not-" he swallows. "Gay."

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed about, okay? You don't need to whisper it like it's a bad thing."

"Well, it's not a true thing either!" Jay sinks down on the bench. "You guys are mean."

"Sure thing, Jay." Jay can't see her face, but it sounds like she's rolling her eyes. 

When the food appears, though, he pulls himself back up again. You can never say no to free food. 

The next day comes too early. Nya drags Jay out of bed and down to breakfast, because she's one of those annoying morning people. Jay absently scratches at his leg as he sips at his coffee- he didn't get a chance to check his mark last night. 

"We have charms next," Nya says, dropping into the seat beside him. Jay makes a noncommittal noise. She sets his timetable in front of him. 

Jay barely scans it as he puts it in his bag. While he's bend over, he slides his trouser leg up to glance at his mark. _"Well that could have gone a lot worse."_ has been replaced with _"Shit, I'm gonna be late!"_. He can't help but grin. His soulmate doesn't usually swear, so something must have seriously riled her up. 

A shadow falls over him; he looks up to see owls bringing in the post. Nya's speckled owl lands beside her plate with her copy of the _Prophet_. She feeds it with one hand, spreading the paper open with the other. 

"Mornin'." Kai slides in next to him, hair looking even crazier than usual from bedhead. Cole sits down beside him. 

"Hey, guys!" Jay greets, almost back to his usual chirpy self. Coffee really does work wonders. 

Cole grunts back. The response is so unlike him that Jay pauses to look over. The Gryffindor's frowning as he stacks pancakes on his plate. 

Jay sits back. Cole's another one of those early morning people, and usually he's more upbeat than this. He leans in towards Kai. "What's got Cole all pissy today?"

Kai leans in too. "You didn't hear it from me, but I think it's something his soulmate said." 

"If you guys are gonna talk about me, could you at least wait until I left?" Cole stands up suddenly. "I'm not hungry. I'm going down to the potions classroom; Kai, you coming?"

Kai shoots Jay an apologetic look. "We do actually have a class at the crack of dawn. Insane, I know. I'll catch up later."

And the Gryffindors are gone as soon as they came. Confused, and a little hurt, Jay finishes his own breakfast and walks with Nya to the Charms classroom. They've got this class with Ravenclaw, most of whom are already sitting at their desks. Jay claims one near the front and off to the side, scooting over so Nya can sit beside him. 

"Hello, students," Professor Clouse intones. He's a middle-aged Professor with an affinity for purple that almost rivals their transfiguration teacher, Professor Chen. "You are now in your sixth year of Charms coursework. Now I'm sure many of you have been expecting a relaxed year in which you may slack off. I'm here to correct that notion. You may not have your N.E.W.T.s this year, but there is no time but the present to start preparing."

He turns to the board at the front of the room. "Have any of you dunderheads heard of nonverbal spellcasting?" 

He starts writing on the board. Jay slinks down in his seat. _Is this seriously all we're doing this year?_ he writes on the corner of his parchment. He tilts it towards Nya. She reads over it with pursed lips. 

_Nonverbal spellcasting is important and advanced_ , she scribbles back. 

_Yeah, if you're dueling. Anything other than that and it's a waste of time._

_But don't you get annoyed having to constantly say your spells?_

_No?_ Jay chews on the end of his pen. _I like talking._

Nya huffs. _Just pay attention._

They're split off in groups and given feathers to practice on. _Leviosa_ , Jay thinks, waving his wand. Predictably, nothing happens. He leans back, letting his wand rest against the desk. _Ugh. Now I've gotta do more work._

* * *

"Sahs," Jay says, dropping his book-bag into the seat beside Lloyd.

Lloyd scrunches his nose up. "Better," he decides. "You still need more of the 'hs' sound though."

"Shoot." Jay drops his head onto the table. "What did I say?"

Lloyd grins lopsided. "Something like cricket. What are you doing here?"

"Wow, no need to sound surprised," Jay drawls. "I am capable of studying, you know." 

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Fine, okay. I'm looking for Charms books."

"For an assignment?" Lloyd sits up. "What do we have?"

"No, not an assignment," Jay says, scanning the bindings on the shelves. "We're learning nonverbal charms, which I think is a waste of my time, so now I'm looking for a new semester project to do."

"Sometimes I wonder how you didn't end up in Ravenclaw."

"Sometimes I wonder how you didn't end up in Slytherin."

"What, because of my parseltongue?"

"No, because of your deviousness. Don't think I forgot the laundry prank you pulled in second year." 

"Oh yeah. That was brilliant."

It was, but Jay's not going to give him the satisfaction of his approval. He drops several tomes onto the table, making Lloyd jump and scowl. "Think this will be enough to get me started?" he asks sarcastically.

Lloyd raises an eyebrow at him from where he's now half-hidden behind a pile of books. "Nah, I think you need at least three more."

Jay scowls. But he does end up pulling out two more books and added them to his selection.

Lloyd sets a chocolate frog on top of the stack when he's finished. 

* * *

"Sorry about earlier," Cole says without introduction.

Jay's eyes shoot up. They find Cole's, and the two of them stare at each other for a short second. "No worries," he says back, and he means it. "Hey, we all have bad days."

They're at the Hufflepuff table for dinner tonight, spots of green and red amid a sea of yellow. Jay moves over so Cole can sit. He does, fiddling with his napkin. "I don't want to take that out on you, though." 

Jay pauses mid-bite to look at him. He doesn't know why Cole's being so awkward about it. "Dude, it's cool, okay? That was hours ago. I'm fine." In a moment of impulse, he adds: We're best friends, and nothing's gonna get in the way of that." Immediately he feels something whither up and die in his soul. _Wake Me Up Inside_ starts blasting in his head. He might whimper a bit. _Oh my gosh. Dangit, Jay, you can't just call someone your best friend like that! What if he doesn't feel the same way?_

"Best friends," Cole repeats, but he's smiling now, so Jay takes that as a victory. He breathes out. 

"Yeah. I don't text anyone else nearly half as much as I do you."

"That's because none of our friends have phones."

"Hu-huh. Nya got a phone for her birthday this year. And Kai has a phone, but he only uses it to post selfies on Chirp."

"None of our friends have phones that they use," Cole amends. He almost looks relaxed again now. "Thanks, Jay," he says, more quietly.

"Don't mention it," Jay says. "Are you still gonna let me borrow your notes for History?"

Cole laughs and slides his plate closer.

Three days later sees Jay with two new messages: _"I swear that staircase has it out for me"_ from his soulmate and a letter from his head of house telling him his career advice meeting is later that day. Jay follows the instructions and finds himself standing outside the DADA classroom a little past two. The student before him comes out and he takes a deep breath, pushing open the door. 

"Welcome, Mr. Walker," Professor Garmadon says. He's not looking at Jay at the moment. Jay takes several hesitant steps forward and perches himself at the edge of a chair. "How are you enjoying your sixth year thus far?"

"Uh, it's pretty great," Jay says, eyes darting around the room. Professor Garmadon is still imposing, even after all these years. He wets his lips. "So you wanted to talk to me about my career choices?"

"Yes. It's a standard practice that all sixth years have." Professor Garmadon finally looks up. His eyes are this weird red color. Jay wonders if they've always been that color, or if he's just really close to him right now. "As you know, your N.E.W.T tests are next year. Starting your preparation now will help you know which N.E.W.T.s you want to take." He leans back in his chair. "What is it that you were planning on doing, Mr. Walker?"

Jay swallows. "I- I was actually planning on an internship with Borg Industries."

"Borg Industries?" Professor Garmadon looks up from his notes. He raises an eyebrow. "Aren't they the ones trying to connect magic with muggle technology?"

"Yeah." Jay shakes his head too fast. 

Professor Garmadon makes a note of something on his board. "I must tell you, positions within the company are highly contested. You might want to consider an alternative plan."

"I have good enough charms scores!" Jay blurts. "And an E in Ancient Runes. Oh, and I'm practically fluent in Latin!"

Professor Garmadon looks up sharply. "You speak Latin?"

"I started learning in third year, after I went to the Tower with Cryptor."

"That's right. You are acquaintances with his son." The corner of Professor Garmadon's mouth twists up. "Well, Mr. Walker, it seems I must reevaluate your situation. If you are truly fluent in Latin, then your chances of landing an internship are greatly improved."

"Thank you, sir!" gasps Jay, jumping to his feet. "Oh my gosh, I've gotta go tell Nya..."

"Mr. Walker!" Jay freezes, hand on the door. He turns slowly back. Professor Garmadon is frowning at him. "There is one part of the interview I must warn you about. Dr. Borg is looking especially for innovators to bring on to his staff. Thus, there is a practical exam portion where you will be asked to show off a spell you have created yourself."

It feels like Jay's just been doused in ice water. "What?" he whispers. "I've- I've gotta-"

"Mr. Walker." Jay finds himself looking up at Professor Garmadon. His eyes are severe, but after several moments of staring, something in them softens. "I wouldn't let you continue down this path if I thought for a moment you weren't capable."

Jay gapes at him. 

"You may leave, Mr. Walker. Send in Miss Zuka after you." 

* * *

"Wait, my dad told you he believed in you?"

"What? No, it wasn't like that!" Jay reaches the end of the room and turns on his heel, pacing back to where he started. "He just told me I was capable of getting an internship."

"My dad never says anything he doesn't mean. That's so cool, Jay!" 

Jay lets out a rather unmanly shriek as he ducks the chocolate frog that comes whizzing towards his face. "Yeesh, Lloyd, you almost took my eye out!"

"But I didn't! Besides, I thought your quidditch talent would have seen that coming from a mile away."

"Seeker, Lloyd. Seeker." Jay flops down on the couch beside him. "I chase a ball that's trying to get away from me, not flying into my eyeball! Cole, tell him."

"Don't throw chocolate frogs at people's eyes, Lloyd," Cole says absent-mindedly as he pages through a book. 

"Ha!" 

Lloyd scowls. "Spoilsport. You always side with him!"

"It's because I'm always right," Jay says smugly. 

(He probably did deserve that pillow thrown at him.) 

* * *

Quidditch tryouts come on a rainy Friday afternoon a week into the school year. Jay drags himself outside to the pitch, wrapped up in his fluffy green scarf. The walk down to the pitch is cold and wet and he keeps up his litany of grumbling the whole way there.

The pitch is filled with new faces- some of which Jay is sure he's never seen before. He glances over the crowd as he heads to get his broom. Two of Slytherin's chasers and their keeper graduated the year before, and Jay knows Shade is dropping out to focus more on his studies. That means that half the team is gonna be made of newbies, taking down Slytherin's shot at the Quidditch Cup significantly. 

Jay takes his broom from the closet and set about to tuning it up. He doesn't envy Nya's position as quidditch captain at all. 

"Okay, snakes!" Nya shouts. And speak of the devil. She's standing by one of the goals, hands cupped together for a bigger shout. "Everybody, to the center!"

Jay sidles up to her as she waits for them to gather. She's wearing a muggle raincoat today, with jeans and a gray long-sleeve tee-shirt underneath. "See any potential?"

"How can I?" Nya says to him, aside. "They haven't flown yet." She raises her voice. "The only positions we're looking to fill are chaser, keeper, and beater! If you were here to tryout for seeker, sorry! Better luck next year!" 

About a half-dozen kids break off and head back inside. Nya shakes her head. "Okay. Now I want keepers to go stand by the goals. The rest of you, stay put." 

When the keepers leave, they divide the rest into two teams and set them up against each other. Jay's job isn't to find the snitch this time, it's to watch everyone from above for a different perspective. He points out the weaker fliers to Nya when he returns to the ground, and by the time the tryouts are over they've got the chasers they need, along with a beater and a keeper who could be good if he honed his skills. 

They traipse back into the Great Hall, pausing to _scourgify_ the mud off their robes. Jay checks the time. He has a half-hour before he needs to be to Transfiguration- more than enough time to run down to the kitchens for a quick snack. 

When he slides into the classroom twenty-nine minutes later, Lloyd has his usual seat held open for him. Jay drops down beside him. "Know what we're doing today?"

"Nope." Lloyd pops the 'p'. "As long as it's not more theory work, I'm happy."

Jay groans. "Don't remind me." They're learning human transfiguration now- which sounds like it should be awesome if the theory wasn't so hecking complicated. Jay doesn't quite get why it has to be so confusing. Transfiguration for him has always been more about intent and imagination than knowing all the reasons an incantation does what it does. 

He rests his head on the desk. "Maybe we'll actually get to practicals today."

"Maybe," echoes Lloyd, but he doesn't sound convinced. 

"Welcome, students!" cries Professor Chen. The Transfiguration teacher grins down at them from his stand. "Today we will move on from simply doing our theory work into the realm of practicality." He pauses for the lackluster cheer they give. "Split off into pairs and gather by the mirrors."

Professor Chen is kinda a whack-job, but he genuinely loves his subject. Jay can't decide if that makes him more or less creepy. His robes are a shocking purple and today he's wearing a weird snake hat. _More creepy_ , he decides. _Definitely more creepy._

"The charm I'm teaching you today is the hair-color changing spell." Professor Chen claps his hands together. "Listen, children!" He says the incantation and has them repeat it and practice the wand movements separately. Then he sets them loose to their own devices. 

Charms has always been his thing, but Jay's not half-bad at transfiguration either. It takes several times, but by the end of the class, he's has succeeded in changing Lloyd's hair to be a shocking lime green. In response, Lloyd makes his blue. 

They keep the colors even after class ends. 

* * *

"How's it coming?"

"Ugh."

"That good?" Zane pats him on the back. "I brought you coffee."

"Zane, you are a god among men," Jay says, grasping blindly for the cup. 

"What are you working on now?" Zane slides gracefully into the chair beside him. They're in the Hufflepuff common room because it's cozy there and Jay doesn't need a second reason. 

"Latin." Jay finally raises his head. "We were practicing the hair color-changing charm in Transfiguration last Friday." 

"Crinus muto," Zane supplies. 

"Yeah, that one. It got me thinking about how words affect a spell. Because muto means change, you know, but when its used in a spell with crinus it only applies to hair. I've been experimenting with lux and colors."

He holds up his wand. "Viridis lux." The tip of his wand lights up in green. "See? And then that got me wondering if different cases or declensions would make a difference too. Like, do you think the hortatory subjective would make a stronger spell?"

"Have you tried it yet?"

Jay shakes his head. "Not yet, but I was planning to." He kicks his chair back. "Lux." The tip of his wand lights up. "Nox." He runs through his declension endings mentally. "Lucem faciamus."

There's no difference between this light and the last. Jay scribbles the result down in his notebook. "Okay, so that's that then."

"That was just one ending," Zane says. "Try the imperative."

"Lucem facire."

"Maybe you should drop the accusative and go back to the nominative. That's been proven to work."

"Okay. Lux facire!"

This time, the light does almost seem brighter. Jay beams. "Nice! It's a definite start." He writes down the result, then looks over to where Zane has pulled out his own books. "What're you working on?"

"History of Magic." Zane puts on his reading glasses. He looks very sophisticated. Jay just looks dorky when he wears his. "Professor Wu has us constructing a timeline of events, technological developments, social and political climates and achievements that the wizarding world has gone through in the last couple hundred years."

"That actually sounds fun," Jay says, surprised. Usually it's all he can do to stay awake during the class. "So you're researching stuff to put on it?"

"Not exactly. I wanted to enchant my parchment to be interactive. Do you know any?" 

"Like, to make drawings move? That type? Cole would know more than I do."

Zane tilts his head. "Yes, in a sense. I was hoping to make some sort of guide- but one with a personality, almost? They would at least have to be able to relay information."

Jay pats him on the back as he stands. "Well, good luck with that. It sounds like it's gonna be really cool." He stretches, yawning. "I've got Ancient Runes in ten minutes, so I've gotta bolt. Thanks for the coffee!" 

* * *

The weeks fly by. Jay had wanted an easy year- a break from both O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. The teachers seem not to have gotten this memo. Jay has more homework than ever, and between that and the quidditch practices Nya has twice a week, he barely has time to see his friends.

The day of the opening match of the year finally arrives. Jay strides out onto the pitch, grinning and waving at his friends gathered in the Slytherin side of the stands. It's a Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw game, and the audience is a sea of green and blue. 

He takes his place. The day is pleasantly nice: a bit on the chilly side, but hey, it's the middle of November so that's only expected. Nya and Acronix, the obnoxious Ravenclaw quidditch captain, shake hands. 

The whistle sounds. Jay rockets up. He stops when he's sufficiently high enough up and starts scanning for the snitch. Ravenclaw makes a goal, he thinks, as the crowd roars. He starts circling the pitch in slow, wide circles. Khan, the Ravenclaw seeker, falls into position behind him. 

They continue like that for some time, long enough for Slytherin to make three goals. Jay's on his nth loop when he sees it- a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. Trying not to make it obvious, he nudges his broom that way. 

The snitch is flitting about near the center of the pitch. It's near the ground, meaning Jay will have to dive. Keeping one eye on the snitch, Jay glances back at Khan, evaluating. Khan is a seventh year. He's heavier than Jay, but Jay's pretty sure he could beat him in a flat-out race. And he doesn't seem to have noticed the snitch yet...

Jay dives. The spectators go wild. In his peripheral vision, he sees Khan following. Jay grits his teeth and urges his broom faster. The ground races up at a dizzying speed. The snitch is a beacon of gold, calling them both.

The ground is really close now. Fear spikes through Jay's heart. What is he doing? Suddenly he can't breathe. He can't do this. He's going too fast. He's gonna lose control of his broom and become a Jay-shaped splatter on the field. 

It's too close. Jay squeezes his eyes shut and pulls up. The crowd screams. "What is he doing?" one particularly enraged voice cuts through. 

"He just threw the game!"

Then half the stands erupt into cheers. Jay doesn't need to look back to know that Khan got the snitch. There's a leaden feeling in his stomach, and he thinks he might be sick. 

"What was that?" Nya seethes, when she finds him hiding in the broom closet. "You had that, Jay. You still had plenty of time before you would have hit the ground. What gives?"

"I panicked, okay?" Jay slams the lid of his maintenance supplies shut. "My mind blanked out and I panicked."

Nya sighs. "C'mon, get up." She grabs his elbow and pulls him to his feet. "I'm not gonna chew you out right now. Obviously, it wouldn't do any good. We're going to the after party and you're gonna stop moping in here."

Jay pauses mid-step. "I can't go in there!" He wrenches his arm from her grip. "Or did you forget why I'm moping in here in the first place?"

Even in the dim light, Jay can tell Nya's rolling her eyes. "Stop whining and buck up. You're a Slytherin, Jay. You gotta face life with your head high."

"No, you're thinking of a bloody Gryffindor." Unbidden, his mind flies to Cole. "We Slytherins prefer to slip into the shadows when things go disastrous." 

"I'm not dealing with this right now. We are going to the party-" she jabs a finger at his chest- "and you are going to have a good time. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jay says dutifully. Sometimes you just gotta choose your battles, and this is not one of his. 

The Hufflepuff common room is decked out in blue and bronze. Jay gets a literal face-full of the bloody Ravenclaw colors as a streamer falls into his eyes. He pushes it aside with a scowl. 

"Jay!" Cole is suddenly at his side. His eyes are bright and there's a glass in his hand. "I'm glad you came!"

"Please tell me that's butterbeer," Jay groans. He takes the glass from Cole and sets it on a table. 

Cole raises an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to tell you that, or..."

"No, never mind." Jay glares at him. "Yeesh, Cole, I can't believe you're getting drunk- and right after I screw up the first match of the year."

"I'm not drunk," Cole pouts. Actually pouts. His bottom lip is slightly jutted out and everything. Jay can't stop staring. "My dad's a movie star, remember? I know how to hold my liquor."

Jay flops down into one of the chairs. "Ugh. I can't believe that actually happened."

Cole takes the seat beside him. "You freaked. Everyone does that."

"You don't," Jay accuses. 

Cole rolls his eyes. "I'm not a seeker. My job is to hit balls at people, remember?" He exhales. "Okay, think about it this way. Have you dove like that before?"

"Well, no-"

"Then you can't be blamed for freaking out," Cole says firmly. He looks at Jay with such intensity that Jay almost finds himself agreeing with him. "Someone or something else will happen next week and you'll just be old news." He grins lopsided. "Sorry Jay, but you're not that important." 

Jay can't help it. The corners of his mouth twitch up despite himself. "Wait, really, Cole? And here I thought you thought the world of me." 

He's trying for easy ribbing but Cole's looking flustered now and Jay wonders what he said wrong. "Sorry. That came out weird."

Cole coughs. "No prob." 

Jay fidgets. "Um, thanks for that. The pep talk, I mean."

"Did it help?"

"No," Jay says immediately. He forces a laugh. "But it was really nice of you. Honestly, I don't know why you put up with me. I'm nothing special." And wow, did someone somehow dose him with veritaserum? Because he's still talking. Why is he still talking? Holy cow, Jay, shut up already, you freaking gremlin!

"Jay-" Cole says, and there's a quietness to his voice that wasn't there a moment before. Jay hates it, hates how it makes him feel. "I don't know how to get this this through to you, but you're my friend. You're all of us's friend, and we think you're brilliant. Why can't you just hear that?"

"I-" Jay can't respond. The earnestly in Cole's eyes is killing him and he looks away. "Oh, look, there's Lloyd! I need to go say hi to him." He stands. "Uh, thanks again. For the talk. And stuff."

"And stuff," Cole agrees, and there's a sardonic tilt to his mouth. "Go say hi to Lloyd. I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Christmas holidays are here.

It's two weeks until the Christmas holidays and the professors are working overtime. Jay has never had this much homework before, and that's even counting his O.W.L. year. His arms are weighed down by books as he staggers into the Great Hall, and he has to physically look around them to see ahead.

It's nearing lunchtime, and the Hall is a mess of students popping in and out as they rush to their next classes. Zane's there, helping some of the younger students set up decorations. He sees Jay and motions towards the Slytherin table. Jay grins and shuffles his way over. He drops his load, swings his legs over the bench, and kicks his bookbag underneath it.

"Are you going home for the holidays again?" Zane asks, coming over. He sits across from him.

"If I didn't, I think my parents would literally kill me." Jay loads a plate and passes it to him. He starts filling another for himself. "Ugh, but they can sometimes be just so clingy, you know? Like, I see them and they say, 'Jay! We haven't seen you in forever!'" Jay shifts backward and musses his hair. "And then I'm like, 'Mom! Dad! I just talked to you last weekend!' and they're like, 'Oh, but it's not the same, honey." He moves forward again and drops his voice. "Tell us every minute detail of your last four months.'"

"You think that's bad?" Lloyd asks, sliding in beside him. Kai, Nya, and Cole fit onto the bench on the other side of the table. "Try having your dad as your professor."

Jay winces. "Okay, that is pretty bad."

"Eh, it's not that bad." Kai props his chin on his knuckles. "Nya and I were homeschooled before we came to Hogwarts and our Mum taught us. It was actually pretty fun. We did a lot of trips and stuff."

"Lucky you, then," Cole says. "My dad never did anything with me, besides stick me in some preppy private school."

"Well you're here now," says Kai, grinning and throwing an arm around his shoulders. "What are you guys doing for Christmas? Nya and I are going home, but you're all invited to the Christmas Day party like usual."

"I'm staying," Lloyd says. "Both of my parents are teachers here anyways, so it doesn't make sense to leave. But I will be at that party."

"I'm staying too," Cole says. Jay's head snaps up. "My dad and I sorta had a falling-put before I left for Hogwarts, and I don't want to go back there yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to come. I don't really know how to leave the castle."

"I'll show you," Lloyd says. "Don't worry. We'll just use the floo in my dad's office."

"What are you doing, Zane?" asks Nya.

"I haven't decided yet," Zane says. "Our father wants to see Echo and I again, but I know he is in the middle of a scientific breakthrough and I don't think it will work out."

"Scientists," Kai says sagely, nodding his head and wrinkling up his nose. Jay thinks he's trying to go for a philosophical look, but in the end it only looks like he needs to sneeze. Or is constipated. Or both.

They have a Hogsmede weekend right before the hols and Jay spends the entire trip agonizing over the perfect presents for his friends. He's been saving his money for months now, but his budget is still tight and he ends up bartering more than once with the sellers. Lloyd gets a toothbrush with some chocolate. Zane gets a book on charms. Kai gets a bottle of temporary tattoo ink. Cole gets a sketchbook and pencils. And Nya, after much deliberation, gets a silvery dragon cuff for her left ear.

The term finishes up the day before Christmas Eve. Jay spends the evening with his friends at the party Gryffindor throws. The next morning he wakes with a headache that only worsens as he forces himself to move around the room and collect his things. Nya hands him a hangover cure at the breakfast table. He knocks it back with a groan.

"You truly are a genius," he says.

"I know," Nya says back.

Jay is suddenly aware of how close they are- one move from him will send his knee bumping into hers. He shuffles back with a nervous laugh. She gives him a weird look and rolls her eyes.

"Wanna ride back together?" he asks.

"That's what I was planning on."

The potion has kicked in by the time the rest of their group joins them. Cole smells like cold when he slides in next to Jay.

"Were you flying?" Jay asks.

"Yep." Cole shakes his head like a dog, sending water droplets flying. "It was raining," he says, like Jay couldn't figure that out for himself.

"Eww," Jay scowls, wrinkling up his nose. "That's nasty, Cole. Stop it."

"It's just rainwater."

"Yeah, well that still doesn't mean I want it on my waffles."

"Fine, fine." Cole's still grinning. Jay bites into his waffle harder that is strictly warranted, crunching aggressively.

There's a ten-minute slot after breakfast where Jay dashes downstairs for his stuff- the train leaves after that. He stuffs his presents in the top of his rucksack, throws it over his shoulder, and takes off for the platform. Everyone's waiting there and he, Kai, and Nya wave goodbye to them before boarding the train.

They claim a compartment in the back and Jay falls asleep almost immediately. He wakes to a crick in his neck and a dark sky. Jay fumbles for his bag. He stumbles out the compartment door, Kai and Nya at his heels, but by the time he's off the train they've been lost to the crowd of other students.

"Jay! Oh, Ed, there he is! Our baby boy!"

Jay very specifically does not look towards the voice.

"Jay! Over here!"

Jay sighs. He has no choice, it seems, but to go over. His parents are standing off to his left, his mom handing onto his dad's arm.

"Mooom. Really? Here?"

His mom ignores him, as par course, as she pulls him in for a bone-crushing hug. She pushes him back to arms-length. "Ed, look how big he's gotten!"

"It's good to see you again, son!" Jay's dad says cheerily. "How was your first semester at Hoggywarts?"

"You have to tell us everything! Did you manage to talk to that girl Nya yet? I know you were planning to!"

"Mom!" Jay hisses, glancing around. Kai and Nya are on the train too, and it would just be his luck for Nya to be behind him right now. "Seriously?"

"Interrogate the boy later, Edna," his dad says. "I'm sure that Jay's tired from his long trip and just can't wait to get home."

His mom gives a little gasp. "Oh, Jay! You must be starving! Don't worry. I made your favorite for dinner."

"Kraft Mac-n-Cheese?" Jay asks hopefully.

"No." That earns him a flat look, though it's quickly smoothed out with a smile. "Chicken biryani."

Jay does perk up at that. "Yes! Thanks, Mom."

They all pile into the jalopy and settle in for the drive back. Jay does end up telling them all the details of his school year, and by the time they're at the trailer, he's just finishing with the story about Kai enthusiastically carrying mistletoe around with him everywhere.

They have dinner- it is really good- and spend the rest of the night watching b-rated Christmas movies and playing games. Jay's mark changes halfway through a round of poker, going from " _Let me sleep here until I die_." to " _And I don't even like freckles!_ ". Well, rude, thinks Jay, whose face is absolutely bespattered with freckles. He's still a little mopey when he goes to bed.

It's a good thing Christmas morning is the best cure-all of all.

Jay wakes up sometime before ten to a large owl pecking at his window. He stumbles half-awake to let it in and sleepily gives it a piece of candy he's got in a bowl on his desk.

By the time the last owl has come and gone, Jay's feeling a whole lot more awake. He lines up the presents from his friends and sets about to opening them. There's candy from Lloyd (huge surprise there), a warm fluffy scarf hand-knit by Zane, a coupon to a muggle arcade from Cole with the promise that they'll go there together, and best of all- a tiny chocolatey-brown kitten from Kai and Nya that tumbles from its box with an indignant meow.

Jay might be a tiny bit in love.

He takes the kitten in to breakfast with him and feeds it scraps of bacon. Then his family gathers around their little tree and unwraps their gifts.

It's about lunchtime when a second owl comes flying in. This one has a small bag wrapped around its leg. When Jay takes it off, a little LEGO man falls out with a note. Jay's mom feeds the owl while he reads it: the minifigure is a portkey to take him to Kai and Nya's house later that evening for their Christmas party.

It's an annual thing at this point, but Jay still spends a half-hour in the bathroom fussing with his hair and tie.

"You look lovely, dear," his mom tells him, when he steps out into the living room. "Doesn't he look lovely now, Ed?"

"Go get 'em, tiger," says his dad.

Jay hugs them both. It's a bit awkward to do, seeing as he currently has his kitten tucked under one arm. Gah. This is gonna get cat hair everywhere. "I'll see you tomorrow," he says. "Don't wait up for me!"

He sets his cat down. There's the familiar pulling in his gut, and Jay closes his eyes so the nausea won't get him. When he opens them again, he's standing at the doorstep of a warm country house. Jay moves his hand to ring the doorbell, but the door's already being flung open and he's grabbed into a hug by Mrs. Smith.

"Jay! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Thanks for having me, Mrs. Smith." Jay grins back. "This is for you."

Mrs. Smith takes the offered banana bread with a delighted gasp. "Thank you, Jay. Tell your father that his baking is always stellar." She smiles at him. "I'm sure you don't want to spend your evening with us stuffy adults. Kai and Nya are upstairs, and some of your other friends are here already too."

"Thanks, Mrs. Smith."

Jay takes the stairs two steps at a time. He passes down a hallway lined with intricately-designed wands- the Smiths are wandmakers, and these are some of their finest. Voices lead him to the upper parlor. He pushes open the door and takes stock of the situation.

The room is festively decorated with sprigs of pine needles, ribbons and bows, and golden bells. Enchanted mistletoe floats lazily around the room, like a float in a pool that no one's jumped into yet.

Kai is in the corner with some of his quidditch buddies- a seventh year named Liesl or something who has super bright pink hair; and an obnoxious redhead who plays seeker and who Jay only remembers the name of because it's the same as his house.

Further away, Lloyd's playing poker with that Slytherin boy a year above Jay and the Slytherin girl who rooms with Nya. If the sounds coming from that part of the room are anything to go by, he's hustling them good. Jay has half a mind to join them, but then he catches sight of Nya across the room. Almost unknowingly, his feet take him over to her. She's wearing the ear cuff.

"You're wearing the cuff," he says. And then to make it more awkward, he makes an aborted gesture at her ear. His face might be on fire.

Nya laughs. "Yeah. It's pretty sweet; thanks for getting me it." She pats the seat beside her. "Sit down. Ronin and I were just arguing over whether or not cereal is technically a soup."

It's then that Jay notices the Hufflepuff half-hidden behind her. "'Sup," Ronin says, with a half-wave. His long hair looks neat for once and is pulled back in a ponytail.

"I say that it is," Nya says, completely oblivious to Jay's internal screaming.

"And I say that that's stupid." Ronin raises an eyebrow at Jay. "Are you gonna sit? Or are you just gonna stand there all day looking like an idiot?"

Jay scowls at him, but sits. Stupid Ronin with his stupid smile and stupid hair. Why do chicks always dig long hair? Should he grow out his hair too?

While Jay's still agonizing over this, the doors open again. Two more people step through, and when they turn around Jay recognizes them as Zane and his kid brother. "Zane!" he calls, waving his hand wildly. "Over here!"

"Jay," Zane says warmly, coming over. "Nya. Ronin." He tips his head to each of them. That's right. Zane and Ronin are in the same dorm, along with their mustached quidditch captain, the wannabe legimens, and that weird kid named Emmet whose sheer positivity is sometimes too much for even Jay to handle. "It's good to see all of you."

Well, there goes any hope that Zane will back him here. Jay slouches down into the couch.  Ronin and Nya continue their bizarro conversation about cereal, and even more bizarrely, Zane sides with Nya.  Ronin eventually grows bored of the conversation and makes a break for the punch table while Zane and Nya get into a heated argument about Lucky Charms.

Seven minutes later and the doors open again. In stumbles Cole, hair slightly more tamed than usual and carrying a box beneath one arm. On seeing them his face breaks into a grin and he hurries over.

"Hey, guys." He sets the box on the table. The pieces rattle inside. Cole pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and runs a hand through his tousled hair. "Hope I didn't miss anything."

"Not really," Nya says. "Whatcha got there?"

"Uh, 7 Wonders?" Cole sits down in an empty chair. "It's a board game my dad sent me for Christmas. I haven't played yet."

"It looks cool," Lloyd says, coming over. There's the end of a sucker stick poking out of the corner of his mouth.

"Did you win?" Nya asks.

Lloyd raises an eyebrow. "How do you think I got this sucker?"

"Did you make up with your dad?" Jay asks. He can't imagine being at odds with his own dad at all, and definitely not for a whole semester. "I mean, he sent you a game. That's a pretty close gift."

Cole and Zane share a look. Obviously, they've talked about it. Jay feels a sharp stab in his chest. Why does Zane know something about Cole that he doesn't? Cole's his best friend. Not Zane's.

"We haven't talked," Cole says. "He just picked the top game of the year because I mentioned how much fun I had at your board game party last year." He holds up the box, which does proclaim it the best game of 2018.

Jay thinks the fact that Cole's dad remembered and did something about an off-hand comment has to mean something, but he keeps his mouth shut. "Oh. Well how do you play?"

"Don't know." Cole rips the shrink-wrap off the box. "Let's find out."

He takes the lid off and starts flipping through the instructions booklet. Kai meanders over; Jay sees his signature red blazer in his peripheral. "Hey, Cole." He points at something over his head.

Jay looks up too. There's a sprig of mistletoe hovering over Cole.

Kai wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. Cole rolls his eyes, but sets down the rule book anyway. Kai climbs into his lap and proceeds to make out with him. Very enthusiastically.

Jay looks away, something uncomfortable uncoiling in his gut. He knows that Kai likes girls and boys. It's not something he's exactly quiet about. He just doesn't get why he has to be so promiscuous about it.

"Gross, cut it out," Nya says, and then Kai is pulling away from Cole and everything is back to normal. Back to normal, that is, as long as Jay ignores Cole's kiss-swollen lips and even messier hair.

It's hard. Jay finds his gaze sliding back to him, even as he shouts at himself to stop staring. Then Cole looks over at him and catches him looking. Jay flushes, eyes skittering away. But when he sneaks a second glance, Cole's face is suddenly heated too.

Kai looks between the two of them. His face is screwed up, like he's trying to solve a puzzle. All of a sudden, his face smooths out and his lips part in a silent 'oh'. Then he grins likes he's been handed the lottery. It's not a safe look on him, and Jay scowls and looks back to his board. And if he feels particularly satisfied when he crushes the Gryffindor in battle, well, that's for him to know.

As the night draws to its close, parents start sticking their heads in through the doors to claim their kids. It's one in the morning by the time everyone who's not staying the night is gone. They halfheartedly play at picking up the parlor, but fifteen minutes later and they're all spread out on the various chairs and couch.

Jay leans back in his own seat. "Hey, Kai, Nya, thank you for Arcturus!" He's directing it towards Nya, but Kai's the one who answers.

"Did you seriously name your cat- the amazing, super-thoughtful gift that Nya and I worked so hard to pick out for you- after a monster from ancient mythology?" Kai shakes his head with an exaggerated moan. "What a nerd."

"You're more of a nerd for knowing that," Jay points out, rolling his eyes.

Kai opens his mouth.

"He got you there," Nya says, smug. She reaches over to poke him in the side.

Kai scowls.

"Arcturus is too long," Lloyd says, scrunching up his nose like he always does when he doesn't like something. "He needs a nickname."

"Turd," Cole says, from where he's sketching by the fireplace- Jay's inordinately pleased that he's using his new book. But now he whirls on him in horror as Kai cackles with delight.

"Oh, we're keeping that!"

"No!" Jay can't believe his ears. "What? Cole, you're not even part of this conversation! Stay out of this!"

"Too late," says Nya, grinning just as badly as her brother, who has fallen out of his chair and is doubled over on the floor. "It's staying."

"Turd isn't even close to his name!" Jay whines. "You guys are mean."

"Sorry, Jay," says Cole, sounding Not Sorry at all. Jay can see his shit-eating grin, no matter how hard he tries to hide it behind his paper. He opens his mouth to call him out on it, but a yawn steals his breath instead.

"It is getting late," Zane remarks, ever the mom friend. "Perhaps we should head to bed?"

"Oh. That. Yeah, so my parents have one of the guest rooms clogged up with wand crap." Kai pulls a face. "We figured Nya and I would just share these beds, which leaves two more. Oh, and the couch."

"I call couch!" Lloyd immediately declares. He flops down on the aforementioned piece of furniture and closes his eyes. His breathing evens out not thirty seconds later.

The rest of the group stares at him.

"Is he actually asleep?" Nya asks.

"Lloyd sleeps anywhere, anytime," says Kai. "I have an entire album of pictures dedicated to it."

There's a long moment of silence. "Well, Echo and I can share one of the beds," Zane says, breaking it. Zane's kid brother nods.

"Sweet. That means that Cole and Jay- you two have the last one."

"What?" squawks Jay. He flushes and lowers his voice. "Share?"

Not that Cole's not great- don't get him wrong. But isn't there some sort of bro code that says 'don't sleep with your straight best friend'?

"Oh no," says Cole. "I'm not sleeping with him. No offense, Jay," he quickly adds.

Jay actually does feel offended, for reasons he can't explain.

"I'll just take the floor." Cole finishes.

"Spoilsport," Nya mumbles. "Fine. I'll see all of you in the morning."

"Night, Nya," Jay says.

"Dude, you still have to follow me if you want to know where your room is." Nya stands, stretches; makes a beckoning motion with her hand.

She leads them back down the hallway to a door on the left. It's the guest room- the one Jay hasn't stayed in before.

"Kai and I are sleeping in his bunkbeds," Nya says, "and Zane and Echo have my room because they're the ones I trust not to go snooping." She gives him a pointed look. Cole chokes on a laugh in the background.

Jay flushes. "Get out of here! That was one time, and Kai was the real culprit." In a split-second bravery, he pushes her arm.

He's almost too tired to hyper-analyze the way she salutes him back. "See you tomorrow," she says, grinning.

Then they're alone. Jay goes to sit at the edge of the bed. He's torn between offering Cole the bed to be nice, even when he doesn't actually want him to have it. "Thanks for the bed," he finally says.

Cole's spreading blankets on the floor. "Don't mention it." He stands up and absently scratches at his chest. "I'm going to the bathroom. Want anything?"

Jay stares at him. "Think about what you just said there for a minute."

"...Right. I'm going to throw myself into the sun now. Be right back."

Jay waits for him to go. He strips off his sweater and folds it up. Then he kicks off his pants and digs through his bag for his pajamas. He goes to put them on, but the script on his leg catches his attention first. He pauses for a second to squint at the words. They swim before his eyes.

"You okay?"

Jay starts. Cole is standing over him. The Gryffindor worries his lip. "You've been staring at your leg for a while."

Crap. Jay must be more tired than he realizes. He shimmies into his pajamas and pulls them up around his waist. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just exhausted. Man, but I don't know the last time I got a normal night of sleep."

"You don't need to tell me about it." Cole's wearing trousers and a sleep shirt. Jay gets too hot at night for that sort of thing.

"Did you see it?" he asks.

"See what?" Cole answers, a beat too quickly.

Jay fixes him with a look. "My soulmark, Cole." He waves his hand about. "You know? The big black letters on my leg? Say a sentence she's said today?"

"She?" Cole shifts his weight from foot to foot. Jay sighs and scoots over on the bed. He pats the space beside him.

"Well, yeah. I've always assumed she, right? I mean, I'm straight, so..." Jay makes some sort of shrug.

"Hmm." Cole sits. He sighs. "Sorry, coming through."

"What?"

Cole makes an aborted motion at Jay's leg. "Your soulmark?"

"Oh, is that what it said?" Jay looks again, and sure enough, Cole is right. He stares a second longer and slides the leg back down. "Very specific, huh?" He lays down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Cole whispers the spell to cancel the light. The bed shifts as he lays down beside him. And it's quiet. Jay feels his eyelids start to close. He drifts. Their legs dangle off the side of the bed, and even with the distance between them, Jay can still feel Cole's warmth seeping over. The arrangement somehow doesn't feel awkward, or weird.

"What do you think's the point of it all?" Cole's voice is soft, cutting through Jay's haze of sleep.

"Huh?"

"That didn't make any sense. Forget about it."

Jay musters enough energy to roll over on his side. "No, you can't do that. Now you've got me intrigued. What do you mean?"

"It's just-" Cole makes an aborted motion with his hands. Jay feels it rather than sees. "More often than not, your soulmark is a vague message- like your ' _coming through_ ', or ' _hello_ ', or ' _it's gonna rain today_ ', I dunno. And it doesn't even have to be a sentence your soulmate says to you. The chances of actually finding your person are so small that you have to wonder if it's actually worth it."

"I think it is," Jay says. He sits up. "My parents are soulmarked. My mom met my dad at a junkbot tournament and she introduced herself as ' _Dr. Mechastein_ '." The memory brings a smile to his face.

"My dad and mom were certain they were soulmarked," Cole says quietly. "'Cept, they never had anything distinct on them. It was always stuff like: ' _You're the best'_ or ' _Get me another cup of coffee_ '- things that could be theirs, but never could be confirmed."

"And they still got married?"

"Yeah."

Jay frowns. "Were they happy?"

Cole chokes a bit. "Yeah, they were."

"Then-" Jay bites his lip. "Maybe that's all they needed. Maybe that's all that mattered to them."

"And you don't think it was wrong for them to reject their soulmates?"

"Woah, woah," says Jay, 'cause that's a completely different issue there. "You never said they rejected their soulmates."

"They didn't." Cole is silent for a long moment. "Sorry for unloading all that crap on you. I didn't mean to make this all touchy-feely."

"No problem boblem." Jay yawns. "I like talking with you."

Cole rolls his eyes. "Go to sleep, Jay." He stands, the bed creaking. "Merlin knows you need it."

Jay opens his mouth- to call him back? To retort? He bites his lip, and settles for a: "Fine. But not because you told me to."

"Never let it be said you did something because I asked you to," Cole agrees solemnly, and through the light of the window, Jay can just make out the lopsided tilt to his lips. "Night, Jay."

"Night, Cole."

 

* * *

 

_"If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st of August next, you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Please sign below if you woulds like to participate. Cost 12 Galleons."_

Jay stares dismally at the notice. It's the first morning back at Hogwarts and he's just gone over to scribble down the new password from the bulletin board when the sign-up sheet catches his eye.

And Jay knows- knows that he does not have the budget for this. It's extracurricular. He's taking an extra class already. So he pushes the idea aside, readjusts his shoulder bag, and hurried out of the common room.

That should be it. But they're hanging around the Gryffindor common room that night- him and Cole, that is- and the same notice is stuck to the wall, fluttering at the edge of his vision.

"What's wrong?" Cole asks.

Jay's eyes jump back to his parchment. Technically they're supposed to be studying together, and he feels a stab of guilt for ignoring him. "What? Nothing's wrong!"

Cole shuts his book. "Jay, you've been staring at that board for five minutes now, and the last time something held your attention like that was when Pythor walked into that brick wall."

"That was pretty great," Jay agrees. He still remembers the imprint the bricks left on the stuck-up Slytherin's face. Then he sighs. "No- it's stupid."

"You're gonna have to tell me with your words," Cole says. "This might come as a surprise, but I'm not a mind reader."

"Oh, shut up." Jay stares at his hands. It's not that he's ashamed of his family- well, okay, that might be a teensy-tiny lie. But c'mon. His parents run a junk yard. Any coolness that might have had vanished when Jay started middle school. "They're having apparition classes soon."

"Yeah? So?" Cole's got a stupid confused look on his face. "Everyone does them. There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not scared," Jay says, exasperated. "Oh my gosh, Cole, do you want me to spell it out for you? I know that your dad's like, super loaded, or whatever, but us normal people actually have to watch where we put our money. We didn't all grow up privileged like you."

He regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth. Cole's eyes widen, and hurt is a awful look on him, but then he's pushing his glasses up his nose and blocking his face.

"Cole-"

"No, I get it, Jay." Cole breathes out slow. He isn't looking at Jay, eyes locked onto the fireplace several feet away. "My dad's successful, so that means he's never faced discrimination or stereotypes or snide comments because of his race. That I've- that I've never had to deal with them either."

"Cole-"

"No, Jay. Not everything's always about you, alright? Other people have their own issues too." He stands abruptly. "Shit. I need a smoke."

He leaves the common room. Jay watches the painting swing shut behind him, loss settling heavy in his chest. He wants to run after Cole- wants to grab his hand, apologize, do something to make it right. But the bigger part of him balks at the idea. Jay didn't say anything that out of line. Cole just overreacted. Jay shouldn't have to apologize for that.

So he stays where he is, and as ten draws near, packs up his stuff and goes back to his own common room.

The next morning is a stilted affair. Cole laughs at Kai's bad joke, and gives Zane one of his open admiring smiles, but when his gaze slides to Jay it becomes stale and slips off his face.

"Hey, Jay." Nya snaps her fingers under his nose. Jay realizes he's been glaring at his plate. He jumps guiltily and focuses on her.

"What's up?"

"You should have told us you needed money," Nya says. She pulls out a handful of Galleons from her pocket; they ring against the wooden table. "We all banded together and scrounged this up."

"What? Nya!" Jay's adding up the money before he can stop himself. It's enough to pay for the apparition classes and have some left over. "No. No, I can't accept this."

"Why not?" Nya gives him a hard look. "And I swear, Jay Walker, if the next words out of your mouth are 'I'm not some charity case' I'm gonna hex you."

"I'm not," Jay mumbles. And louder: "This is... awesome, you guys. Really. But I'm not just gonna take your money-"

"Oh my gosh, Jay, shut up." Kai throws down his fork. "You're not taking our money, you idiot, we're giving it to you."

"But-"

"Am I your friend, Jay?" asks Lloyd.

This is a trap this is a trap this is a trap this is a- "'Course you are, Lloyd."

"And I'm your friend too," Lloyd says firmly. "So just- stop thinking that we're just putting up with you, or whatever it is that goes on inside your head. We want to do this 'cus we're your friends. You're all of us's friend."

The words are familiar, but it takes Jay a second to place them. His eyes slip over to Cole without his consent. The Gryffindor is watching him, but when he sees Jay looking, looks away.

The ache in Jay's chest swells. He looks away too. "Wow. Just- wow. Thanks, you guys."

"You're going to accept it?" asks Zane. He's grinning when Jay meets his eye, and Jay can't help but grin back.

"Yeah. I, uh, yeah."

"Good." Zane pushes back from the table. "With that settled, I'm off to class."

Cole leaves without saying goodbye, and Kai shouts his around a bagel as he sprints down the hall. Lloyd sighs and takes up his own book bag. "I should get going too."

"What do you have?"

Lloyd scrunches up his nose. "Care of Magical Creatures."

"Yikes." Jay's never set foot in the class himself, but one doesn't need to be his student to see how whacked out Professor Darreth is.

"Yep. Wish me luck." Lloyd presses a chocolate frog into his hand and throws one at Nya.

"I've got a free period," Nya says. "You?"

"Yeah, me too."

"Doing anything?"

"I figured I should probably work on finishing this one spell." Jay stands. He wavers. "Hey, do you want to see it?"

Nya looks up at him, and Jay backtracks. "I mean, not that I'm forcing you or anything. It's not that impressive, really, and I have no idea what I'm doing-"

"Jay-" she says, laying her hand on his arm. "I'd love to see what you've been up to."

"Really?" Jay can't help but beam. "Uh, cool! The stuff's in my dorm room, if you're, uh, done here."

"Nice." Nya downs her juice and shoulders her bag. "Lead the way, captain."

"So it turns out making a spell isn't all that hard," Jay says, once they're back in his room. "The biggest thing is intent, and for the creator, the actual wand movement and incantation doesn't matter as much. Those come in when the creator wants to share the spell to someone else who might not know his original intent, or at least not all of it because sometimes you're not even sure what you're doing. The wand movement and words are supposed to capture and embody the intent, and that's the hard part.

"Like-" he cuts himself off and grabs his wand from his pocket. " _Aperiat_." He jabs the tip of his want at his notebook and the cover flips open. Then he moves his wand to the left slowly, turning several pages. "Okay, you try."

Nya raises an eyebrow at him. _"Aperiat,"_ she says, and makes the same jabbing and moving motion at her own book. It obeys, naturally opening to a place where the spine is cracked. She frowns. "How did you control the pages?"

"You know latin, right?"

"A bit. Enough to guess that means 'open'."

"Well, yeah. But it also means disclose, so what I was doing was thinking of a certain word-" he points to where 'dueling' is scrawled on the page- "and directing the spell to find it. That's why I've got to iron out the nuisances."

"Huh." Nya tries again. This time, her book opens to a page in the back on meadowsweet. " _Aperiat_ ," she says, pointing at Jay's book. The cover flips open, but then the motion stills like it's unsure what to do.

"That's interesting," Jay says, like that one newspaper guy from the Spider-Man movies. "What were you thinking of?"

"Dueling," Nya says with a frown.

"Hmm. Hey, close your book for me, I want to try something too." He points his wand at it and thinks ' _meadowsweet_ '. The book opens, but when he moves his wand the pages flip quickly to back and then turn slowly.

"It must have something to do with familiarity," Jay says. He takes a good look at the page and tries again. This time the book opens correctly.

Nya sits back. "Cool. I'm sure that you'll get it perfect. Now," she says, and she's got this look in her eye that Jay doesn't like, "tell me what going on between you and Cole."

"There's nothing going on between me and Cole," Jay says immediately. At her disbelieving look, his face crumples. "Shit, Nya, I messed up so badly. I got into this fight with him last night, and I said some insensitive stuff, and now he won't talk to me."

Nya's eyebrows twitch. "How bad was it?"

"Not that bad! Really!" He breathes out slowly. "I called him privileged."

Nya's silent for a long moment. "Well, it's not the worst thing you could have said, but it definitely wasn't nice."

"Yeah, I get that _now_." Jay makes an aborted motion with his hand. "It's just- ugh. Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"I think you should apologize," Nya says, because she's stubborn like that. If Jay didn't admire her so much for it he would hate it.

"Why didn't you get oh his case when he was all grumpy?" he doesn't whine.

"When he was grumpy?"

"Yeah, back at the beginning of the school year."

"You remember that." Nya's eyebrows have risen past her hairline, Jay's sure of it. She mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like: "God save me from the stupidity of these oblivious idiots" and sighs. "Okay, Jay. Maybe Cole was grumpy last year in September. And you know what? Who cares? He probably apologized, and obviously you got over it. So feel free to wait it out, I guess. Whatever floats your idiot boat." Her voice softens. "Just- you don't want to lose his friendship over stupid words, Jay. That's something you'll always regret."

"Oh, fine," Jay says. He throws his hands in the air. "I'll talk to him later. Happy?"

Nya grins, and suddenly she's back in her normal mood. "Perfectly."

Jay looks away before he does something stupid, like grin back for way too long. "Are you going to help me out with this spell or not?" he asks instead.

"Hey, no one says anything about helping," Nya says. "But since I am such a nice person, after all..."

"Thanks," Jay deadpans.

And they start to work together, trading ideas and jokes and banter, but all the while part of Jay's brain is still thinking about Cole. What if they keep up this silence the entire term? What if Cole graduates and never speaks to Jay again?

The thought is terrifying- even more than loosing his pride is. And when, in a strange twist of irony, the words on his leg read ' _It's so stupid, but I miss his voice_ ' that night, Jay stares up at the ceiling and takes a steadying breath.

Tomorrow. Everything will be better tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see if you can find all the references! There's one to another fandom, plus a handful of baby LEGO ones.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I have no idea what I'm doing :D 
> 
> Title from The Fold's song of the same name. Confession time: I don't even like this song but the title worked well so...
> 
> And yes, I do know that career evaluations were in 5th year. However, I didn't know that when I typed up that scene. It's still in here because I liked it and I do what I want.


End file.
